Mack's 16 helps Butler to Final Four

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - It's an easy five-mile drive from theButler campus to the site of its next game, in downtownIndianapolis. Still, it's hard to think of many programs that havetaken a longer, more unlikely road to the Final Four. Yes, the boys from Butler did it - defeating Kansas State 63-56in the West Regional final Saturday to make their trip back homesomething much bigger than that. The fifth-seeded Bulldogs, the team that plays in the fieldhousewhere "Hoosiers" was filmed, are writing their own underdogstory, even if they can't really be called underdogs anymore. Gordon Hayward scored 22 points and Shelvin Mack had 16 to helpButler (32-4) win its 24th straight game and become the firstschool from a true, mid-major conference to make the Final Foursince George Mason in 2006 - a trip that also ended inIndianapolis. Trailing almost the entire game, No. 2 Kansas State (29-7)rallied to tie it at 54 with 3:09 remaining. But Butler didn'tfold, it only got better. The Bulldogs scored the next nine pointsto seal the game before K-State guard Jacob Pullen's shot at thebuzzer dropped - but offered no consolation. Enrollment at Butler is in the 4,500 range, about 15 of whomhave reminded everyone why college basketball captures America'sheart this time every year. They are weaving a story about the overlooked andunder-appreciated getting their time in the limelight, the kind oftale every underdog, from Charlie Brown to Gene Hackman, has tolove. But make no mistake - this is not some scrappy, overmatched teamthat needed a break, no Danny and the Miracles, or Villanovashooting 79 percent to knock off mighty Georgetown. This is a team that stood toe-to-toe with Syracuse on one night,then Kansas State the next, shutting down two power teams frompower conferences with legitimate stars of their own. Pullen and teammate Denis Clemente didn't score a point forKansas State until 15 seconds were left in the first half, and itwas no matter of luck. Rather, it was the tough, in-your-facedefense of Ronald Nored and Willie Veasley that did it - smotheringa pair of players who had combined for 53 points two nights earlierin a double-overtime win against Xavier. Clemente finished with 18 and Pullen with 14, but they shot acombined 11 for 30. Lucky teams also don't win the way Butler did. Much like in its63-59 victory over Syracuse, the Bulldogs held the lead in this onefor most of the night, but fell behind briefly toward the end. Clemente made a 3-pointer with 4:49 left to cap an 8-0 run andgive K-State its only lead of the game, 52-51. Teams like Butlerare supposed to fold then, right? Well, not quite. Hayward got fouled going to the hole and made two free throws totake the lead back, and teammate Matt Howard made one more freethrow to make it 54-52. Clemente dribbled for what seemed likeforever for a layup to tie, and that was the last significantbasket the Wildcats would make. Butler took the lead on the next possession when Hayward - thatrare NBA prospect playing at a mid-major - stretched his entire6-foot-9 frame to not only collect a too-high, alley-oop pass fromNored, but collect himself and make the shot. Pullen came back with an air ball and Butler pulled away fromthere, ending Kansas State's equally gritty quest - an effort thatwill certainly gain the Wildcats more cachet in a state that haslong thought about the Jayhawks first. Big man Curtis Kelly also had 14 points for Kansas State, whichshot 38 percent for the game didn't make a basket outside of 15feet in the first half. Credit for that, once again, goes to the Bulldogs, coached by33-year-old Brad Stevens, who has refused to buy into the underdogstory. Being a mid-major, he insists, is mainly about money andresources, not about 5-on-5 in a 40-minute game with nothing - oreverything - on the line. Stevens found the players who fit his style - players who liketo work hard, don't back down from a challenge and don't care thatthe big schools didn't come chasing after them. They're players wholoved Hinkle Fieldhouse, the home of the Bulldogs, but also atourist stopover because it's where the 1980s classic "Hoosiers,"starring Hackman, was filmed. Players who appreciate it certainly appreciate team basketball,Stevens said, and now his team will play in a much bigger venue -Lucas Oil Stadium next Saturday against Michigan State orTennessee. The stadium seats about 70,000 for basketball. Butler'shome games - all of them - drew a total of about 90,000 all season. A great underdog story, most of America will call it. Good bet, though, that the boys from Butler won't settle withbeing happy to be there.

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